DENVER -- Darren McFadden looked good in throwing the first touchdown pass of his career on Monday night.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, their veteran running back did more damage on that 16-yard toss to Marcel Reece than he did on most of his attempts to run the ball, finishing with 9 yards on 12 carries.

Oakland's second-ranked rushing offense figured to be a good test for the Broncos' top-ranked rushing defense, but it was no contest in the Raiders' 37-21 loss.

Nearly every time McFadden took a handoff against the Broncos, he ran into an orange wall.

"It was tough running," said McFadden. "Those guys (on the Denver defense) came out there and played great. You have to give those guys full credit."

The Raiders finished with 49 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor led the way with 36 yards on four carries.

Coming into the game, the Raiders were second in the NFL in rushing yards per game (198.5) and yards per carry (5.9). Denver came in with, by far, the No. 1 run defense, allowing just 40.5 yards per game.

The Raiders tried to establish the inside run game against the Broncos' front seven, to no avail.

"We almost felt like there was something people hadn't done this year (against the Broncos) and we kind of can see why," McFadden said.

McFadden, who has had several big games against the Broncos during his career, couldn't break loose Monday. His longest run was 5 yards. On nine of his 12 carries, he was held to 2 yards or less.

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"We just couldn't get it going tonight," he said.

McFadden's rushing total was his lowest since Oct. 23, 2011, when he had 4 yards on two carries against the Chiefs before suffering a season-ending foot injury in the first quarter. It was just the seventh time in his career he was held under 10 yards.

McFadden did have a highlight in addition to his touchdown pass to Reece, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run late in the game when he stretched to hit the pylon.